Can retraining your brain stop seizures? new study tests ReACT therapy
NCT ID NCT06570954
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests a new type of talk therapy called ReACT for adults with functional seizures (also called psychogenic non-epileptic seizures). The therapy aims to help people regain control over their body by changing thoughts and behaviors that trigger seizures. Fifty participants will be randomly assigned to start therapy right away or wait 3 or 6 months, and researchers will measure seizure frequency, sense of control, and pain responses.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- cognitive behavioral therapy (ReACT)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide an effective non-drug treatment for functional seizures, helping people reduce seizure frequency and regain a sense of control.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early-stage trial with only 50 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The therapy requires 12 sessions and may not work for all patients.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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19 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * 19 years and older. * Diagnosis of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures by a medical doctor using video-EEG. Exclusion Criteria: * Comorbid Epilepsy * Less than 4 PNES per month * Other paroxysmal nonepileptic events (e.g. episodes related to hypoxic-ischemic phenomena, sleep disorders or migraine-associated disorders) * Participation in other therapy during the study * Severe intellectual disability * Severe mental illness (delusions/hallucinations) Exclusion for CPT: • Blood pressure \>130/80 mmHg
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Alabama at Birmingham
RECRUITINGBirmingham, Alabama, 35294, United States
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